AKL vs BLT

[psimon]

I think part of it depends on when you are going and who is in your party.

We always go in November (Jersey Week!). The parks close early and we are always looking for things to do at night. AKL's Community Hall, "library" and fire pit gave us lots of entertainment. My kids loved looking at the animals at night

I'm not sure what there is to do at BLT at night.

We always go Jersey week too (last 18 years)..... at least until this year. Twins are in High School and if the Freshman year workload was an indication of what the Sophomore year workload will be, we are sadly thinking of moving the 2011 trip to August. 2011 would be 3 days out of school as opposed to 2 in 2010 because of election day.

For the last 2 years we stayed at AKL-K. We really liked it there. My interest in BLT was it's location and different look. The points difference has me thinking twice.

Since there was all that homework given (with tests to come back to on that Monday) evenings were either in a park or in the room doing homework. Sadly the outside activities at AKL were lost on us.

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[psimon]

I own at BLT.

I like both resorts, but prefer BLT due to it's location. A couple of additional things I would suggest worth considering are the differences in annual dues and the potential resale value. IMO the resale value at BLT will remain higher because of it's location. Annual dues will at least in the short term be lower at BLT and if you buy resale BLT it is the cheaper option over the life of the contract.

I do though prefer the room furniture at AKV. We plan to do split stay between BLT and AKV.

The cheaper dues at BLT means we can stay at AKV for a lower cost than owners of AKV, additionally we can spread our points further by staying at AKV than BLT.

If you can get in at 7 months!

 

[supersuperwendy]

Not sure if it's been mentioned..The newly refurbed rooms at OKW have sleeping chairs in the 1 bedrooms! They sleep 5 now just like BLT and AKV!

 

[psimon]

Not sure if it's been mentioned..The newly refurbed rooms at OKW have sleeping chairs in the 1 bedrooms! They sleep 5 now just like BLT and AKV!

That's half the battle..... now if they had double bathrooms you would have sold me!

I guess you have to specifically ask for those rooms?

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[supersuperwendy]

That's half the battle..... now if they had double bathrooms you would have sold me!

I guess you have to specifically ask for those rooms?

---Paul in Southern NJ

When are you planning to visit? The refurb is supposed to be complete by spring I'm pretty sure. I booked it a while ago and requested a refurbed room.

We own AKV and did a split stay BLT/AKV in May. There's a link to my trip report in my signature. It's tiny..but it's there!

If you ask me...I say BLT..no question! If you ask my husband..AKV no question!

Everyone has their own preferences. I LOVED the location of BLT and would gladly spend the points on it again!

 

[dianeschlicht]

If you are in need of the second bathroom in a 1 bedroom, I'd choose AKV/Kidani. You can't beat the ambiance and the rooms are definitely larger than the BLT rooms. Besides that, we find BLT offers us nothing that we like. We don't like the high rise hotel feel, and MK is our least favorite park, so just about no reason for us to stay at BLT. You may have other priorities though.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

AKV-kidani pool is great and I think the rooms are gorgeous. It's a relaxed atmosphere. I haven't stayed at BLT yet, will be in August its my home resort, and I could not even get standard view at 11 months, had to get lake view which is more points. Keep that in mind at 7 mths as it may make your choice easier.

 

[supersuperwendy]

One of the things I liked about BLT was how easy it was to get to other resorts. We were able to walk to the buses at MK to get to other hotels. We have a bunch of kids so being near MK was perfect too. The Top of The World Lounge has amazing views which I thought was cool. My husband hated bay cove pool though.

We both agreed that Kidani's pool is one of.. if not the best pool we've ever been at! The people who run the pool parties are fantastic and not to be missed! I loved the space of our 2 bedroom at Kidani vs. BLT. BLT felt pretty small compared to our 2 bedroom villas at BWV, SSR and AKV.

You have a tough choice! We really splurged on points at BLT. We had a 2 bedroom on Fri and Sat. night. I thought it was well worth the use of points though. My husband completely disagreed. BLT just wasn't for him.

Either way you choose..you really can't go wrong! They are both fabulous resorts with lots to offer!

 

[psimon]

I loved the space of our 2 bedroom at Kidani vs. BLT. BLT felt pretty small compared to our 2 bedroom villas at BWV, SSR and AKV.

Anyone know the real square footage of both locations for a 1BR?

 

[supersuperwendy]

1 bedrooms at Kidani are 807 sq. feet

1 bedrooms at BLT - I just read something that said they are also 807 ..if that's true then maybe its the curve of the building that makes them feel smaller

BWV - 814

SSR - 714

OKW - 942! huge!

The old DVC planner books used to have the square footage listed with each floor plan. I don't know why they don't anymore. Maybe the new book that's on it's way will have that info once again.

 

[Ms.Mouse]

I voted AKV-K. We stayed there in a Standard and our view was of the drive coming into the AKV but it was still a fair view, and once we got into the hall and walked a few feet, we were viewing the savannah. There was also the porch with rockers downstairs. One evening my daughter and I brought a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses down and hung out on the rockers watching the animals...Well worth saving the extra savannah points.

Even though I prefer the beautiful play/pool area of AKV-K, I did try to get into a split stay with the BLT and BWV's for this summer's trip though and was not successful The reason is that in our group are two infants both will be less than 2 ys old and if you have an infant, it's a better deal to stay BLT. You would not have to break down carriages each time you have to board a bus but just glide onto the monorail with the stroller or simply walk to the park from the resort.

 

[MinnieGi]

We just came back today from our first stay at BLT and we LOVED it!! To us yes, the point difference was worth it!! BTW, I got it at the 7 month mark and it was an over Christmas stay from the 20th to 28th. We are BWV owners and really enjoyed the two bathrooms and two bed options for the kids. Loved walking to MK especially since it was over Christmas. We were on the 5th floor which is the same as skybridge and that really saved with time as it was nice to monorail to Epcot and return on monorail from MK and get a snack at the cafe before heading back to our room.

However having said that guess where we are planning on staying in Nov. - AKV!! We like to try different resorts, they all have great things about them.

But I'd say if you want to stay close to MK, BLT is worth it!!

 

[JWG]

Square footage of 1BR's:
Studio 1 BR 2 BR GV
Animal Kingdom Villas - Value 316 629 945 N/A
Bay Lake Tower 339 803 1152 2044
Saratoga Springs 355 714 1070 2113
Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo 355 720 1075 2201
Beach Club Villas 356 719 1075 N/A
Villas at Wilderness Lodge 356 727 1083 N/A
Boardwalk Villas 359 712 1071 2142
Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani 366 807 1173 2340
Vero Beach 375 880 1265 2125
Grand Californian Villas 379 865 1257 2426
Old Key West 390 1005 1410 2375
Hilton Head 455 856 1311 2362

 

[Tara]

If you are in need of the second bathroom in a 1 bedroom, I'd choose AKV/Kidani. You can't beat the ambiance and the rooms are definitely larger than the BLT rooms. Besides that, we find BLT offers us nothing that we like. We don't like the high rise hotel feel, and MK is our least favorite park, so just about no reason for us to stay at BLT. You may have other priorities though.

AKV Kidani 1br villas are 4 square feet bigger than BLT. I have only stayed in 2br villas in both and Kidani's edge is 20sqft there. I swear, I think all those extra square feet are in the master bathroom! The biggest differences I've noticed are the master bath and the kitchen - at AKV, the master bath seems enormous, but the kitchen with it's closed-in layout seems dinky compared to BLT's open island layout.

Unless you're talking about a studio, size really isn't a discerning factor between AKV and BLT. IMO.

 

[ELKHUNTER]

BLT is a great resort, but if you are renting these points for around $10 a point i would not spend $450 more to stay at BLT. If money is no object, then i would just flip a coin. Heads BLT, tails AKV.

 

[brenbrady]

my vote is for BLT. We just returned from AK in december and it is a beautiful resort. It was just my husband and I, and the bus service was a little slow, if we had children with us it could be a problem.
BLT is our home resort and we love the convience of walking to MK, taking monarail to Epcot. Walking from MK to home at the end of the evening is great especially when you see the long lines for the monarial and boats.

I don't think you will be disappointed in either resort. Good Luck and Happy New Year.

 

[Rochester Disney Fan]

I love the pool and pool area at AKV Kidani.

 

[psimon]

Is there shade available around the pools at AKL and BLT?

 

[supersuperwendy]

Not much shade I thought at Bay Cove at BLT. Plus, Bay Cove is right there practically in the center of the hotel. We used both pools at night and I thought we'd wake people up at BLT. The pool at Kidani had a lot of umbrellas and shady trees! The Kidani pool is AWESOME!!

 

[psimon]

Not much shade I thought at Bay Cove at BLT. Plus, Bay Cove is right there practically in the center of the hotel. We used both pools at night and I thought we'd wake people up at BLT. The pool at Kidani had a lot of umbrellas and shady trees! The Kidani pool is AWESOME!!

That alone could help sway my decision!

Many thanks.....